Validation of the English and French versions of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE) with a Montreal community sample Karène Brenner b , Norbert Schmitz c , Nicole Pawliuk d , Ferid Fathalli d , Ridha Joober c , Antonio Ciampi e , Suzanne King a, ⁎ a McGill University Douglas Research Institute Pavilion Perry, Rm. E-3131 6875 LaSalle Blvd., Verdun Montreal, Québec, H4H 1R3 Canada b Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Canada c Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Canada d Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Quebec, Canada e Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Canada Received 12 January 2007; received in revised form 15 June 2007; accepted 19 June 2007 Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the reliability, validity and factor structure of the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences (CAPE), a 42-item self-report questionnaire. We analyzed the internal consistency of the CAPE to determine whether the 3-factor structure (positive, negative and depressive symptoms) found by the CAPE authors would also be found in our sample. Method: A sample of 2275 individuals from the general community in the Montreal area completed the questionnaire in either French or English. Results: The internal consistencies of the original three subscales were good and the confirmatory factor models had a good fit. The exploratory factor analysis suggested a 3–5-factor solution, without improving the alternative factor structures. The 4-factor solution separated positive symptoms into factors we called ‘bizarre positive symptoms’ and ‘social delusions’, and the 5-factor solution separated positive symptoms further and included a ‘popular psychic beliefs’ factor. Results suggest that the scalability might be improved by shortening the original questionnaire to 23 items with the same 3 original scales. Conclusion: We support the internal consistency of the CAPE. Although alternative scaling (4 and 5 factors) did not improve the model fit, researchers interested in distinguishing 3 factors of positive symptoms could find utility in these two new scales. Finally, reducing the number of CAPE items could be useful for shorter surveys. Future studies should test the implications of these suggestions. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Psychosis; CAPE; General community; Questionnaire; Validity 1. Introduction Schizophrenia research tends to explore psychotic symptoms primarily within populations of the severely mentally ill. Yet, a significant body of research has Schizophrenia Research 95 (2007) 86 – 95 www.elsevier.com/locate/schres ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 514 7616131 X2353; fax: +1 514 762 3049. E-mail address: suzanne.king@douglas.mcgill.ca (S. King). 0920-9964/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2007.06.017